[ SPOILERS ] If you haven't watched this anime and you want to, DO NOT read this fanfic. It will spoil it. I tweaked it some and made it my own (aka I forgot exactly how the story went so I wrote what I thought sounded good xD). For those that have watched it, go get your tissues. You'll need them.
Her heartbeat was fading. The color had long since drained from her eyes. Her journey was at its end and she didn't have the chance to tell him goodbye.
A tear slipped down her cheek as she looked up at the rainbow that painted its way across the beautiful blue eyes. There wasn't a rain cloud in sight and yet the blossoming colors danced in a whirlwind of a thousand hues. Blinking the teary residue away, her trembling hand clutched the letter she'd written for him.
Our story started with a little white lie in April.
Her lip muscles weren't able to form a smile but she believed she was beaming anyway. If now was her time to go, then at least she had a good final hurrah. So what if she never told him the truth - that it wasn't his friend he loved, but him? It would hurt less if she didn't tell him face-to-face.
I fell so hard for you. I knew that my world was you. I'm just sorry I can't stay with you longer. Please, please live for me... Jack.
Atop a playground, she taught some children how to play their musical instruments. They spent more time being in awe at her than actually playing, but it was fun nonetheless. The smile on her face, it was one he'd never forget. She looked like Christmas - magical, pure, beyond beautiful.
A guest of wind caused her skirt to flip up, revealing her lacy white panties.
His timing was god awful. He knew that but this was worse than usual. A split second after seeing her underwear, he received a royal beating.
"YOU PERVERT! YOU WERE STALKING ME FROM THE BUSHES AND JUST WAITING FOR THE WIND! PERVERT, PERVERT, PERVERT!" Each punch harder than the last until something caught her attention and forced her to leap away from his side.
"Oh, Ana!" She bound up to my longest and oldest friend. "Thanks so much for doing this for me," she beamed from ear to ear.
Ana cocked a brow, curious as to why he was there. "Uh, Jack?"
Gabriel stepped forward with that cocky grin on his face. "Oh, I hope you don't mind. I invited him. I know he loves music so I figured it would be rude if we didn't bring him along."
Her eyes sparkled like the ocean. "Really?" She clasped her hands beneath her chin. "You're all coming to watch me perform?"
Her composure changed in an instant. The woman who was previously beating Jack to pulp was now helping him stand and ushering him along. "Wow, I'm just so thankful to have friends like you," she purred. "I'll have to play better than I've ever played before!"
Still baffled as to what he was getting dragged into, Jack shot Ana a confused glance. "Wh-what exactly am I getting dragged into?"
Rolling her eyes, Ana pointed a finger at the blonde. "This is Angela Ziegler. Name ring a bell?"
Mulling over the name, Jack's eyes snapped open. "The violinist?!"
Her radiant smile consumed her face. "Yup," she was peachy and sweet. "That's me. I pour my heart and soul into my performance. It's not about the song. It's the impression you make." Her finger snapped forward to point at Jack. "Remember that, 'k?"
Gabriel chuckled. "Bet you wish you had a girlfriend as cute as Angie, huh?"
Jack's brows furrowed. That's right. He'd heard that Ana was hooking Gabe up with a popular, pretty girl. He just... he just had no idea it was Angela Ziegler. Still, it was nice to see Gabe happy. Perhaps he'd actually take this girlfriend seriously?
Annnnnd that was a major no. He spent the past five performances texting their classmate who went by the name Sombra. And if it wasn't Sombra, it was Amélie.
"Hey," Jack jabbed his elbow into Gabe's side, "she's up. Better pay attention."
It wasn't a moment he could capture on film, but even so, he would never let it disappear. Her performance was a song and every last note was carved into his heart. And it wasn't just her performance. It was everything.
She was everything. She was his whole world. She pushed him to placed he'd never expected to be.
And yet, as he played on that grand stage all alone, a part of him ached. She wasn't there. She wasn't accompanying him (or rather he accompanying her).
He knew.
He just knew.
It took every ounce of his willpower to continue. He had to. He just had to keep playing. So what if she wasn't there? So what if she blew off their duet? He could fill the room with color! And perhaps, just maybe his song would reach her.
Would she see his rainbow-colored symphony? Would it be the most beautiful sound she'd never known? Would it cause her to come bursting through the door to steal the show away from him?
Angel, please let this melody reach you.
The tears rolled down his cheeks. He could recall it all so vividly. It was a melody no one could play alone. Crying, laughing from hello. They had grown together over DO-RE-MI-FA-SOL. Every day he spent by her side, he found himself. He grew. He knew he could survive because she believed in him.
Angela broke down his walls. She made him realize there was more to music than perfectly performing the notes others had crafted. No, music was meant to inspire.
It's the impression you make, he recalled while his fingers smashed the ivory keys.
All of our emotions form this symphony.
Each note was a color dedicated to a memory - the good, the bad, the ugly.
Digits dancing gracefully, sorrowfully, flawlessly over the piano's keys, Jack brought his performance to a close. As the final note, he thrust his head to the ceiling above. Only, it was no ceiling. It was a brilliant crimson sky with a fever of colors and swirls. Cherry blossom petals twirling into a silent song up there. The world spins around and around.
Did my song reach you, Angel?
A white glow flickered above. Collapsing in on himself, Jack struggled to get up from that seat.
Numb, he bowed to the thunderous applause.
Signing, he took his leave.
Once off stage, he bolted from the auditorium. No one could stop him. No one could slow him.
The flurry of tears stained his cheeks as he ran. Memories overwhelmed him but he embraced them nonetheless.
She always knew how to wipe away from the monochrome hue. She filled his world with color, especially when she laughed beside him.
She got him to perform. She helped him crawl from the dark abyss into the spotlight. Hours, days, months - they spent them practicing. She was annoying, persistent. She'd plaster the walls, the floors, the world with the notes.
"Let's go and make the most of today!" She swung around with her hands on her hips. "Starting now, you're going to be my accompanist!"
If only had he knew just how precious their time was. Perhaps he wouldn't have protested.
If only he had known, he would have spent it all with her.
Thankfully, she wouldn't let him say no. The lightning bolts behind her sapphire stare were enough to make him surrender to her demands.
Angela was the one. She was always the one. She was the light in his life. Together, they could take on the night, shining like the stars in the sky. They needed each other.
Angela was loud, rough, and bold. Jack was a mess, broken. Having lost his mother and feeling like he was the cause, he cast away music. But then Angela came around. She was in control. She led their dance. No, their song. And Jack found the spark, the notes.
Panting, Jack's pace slowed until he came to a stop. Gripping his shirt, he felt the pain swell within his chest.
The storm was passing. His eyes shot up to the brilliant blue, a bittersweet goodbye. Broken, he could remember her laugh. The way she used to make him smile.
It was hard to think this was goodbye, especially when their story had only begun.
In a single beat, their paths met. They took a vow, then and there. Among a million stars, love was born. A burning white light that would last the test of time. No matter the season or day, their love was a symphony of each and every dream.
Not too long ago, they were walking side by side, just a single step away. It felt so long ago when their story began and now Jack was wishing he could recall what made them laugh.
Oh how he missed the magical of those ordinary days...
With her final exhale, she felt peace. This was truly goodbye. It was all still so clear. His voice was the only music she could hear. And he was still the orange of the sunset she saw in her dreams.
Their time together was fleeting, short. But at least she got to enjoy it. Their rainbow wasn't formed by chance. She forced this. Forced them. She lead him from the shadows of fear and brought him into the light. Angela played with her emotions so Jack could finally walk away from his tormenting past.
It was my lie in April. I never loved Gabriel. It was always you, Jack. You were my rainbow-colored symphony. You were the magic my life needed. You saved me. You kept the monochrome from cluttering my vision. You let me dream in color. Leave in color.
You reached me. Just as I reached you...
It took a while for the news to finally reach him. She had passed away.
"Sh-she wrote you this," her parents left him with a sealed letter with that ridiculous stationary he helped her buy. He remembered carrying her shoes, shirts, that over-sized cat plushie she needed. He remembered the way she purred when they shared a slice of cake.
Taking the note, he let it burn a hole in his pocket. He'd read it after practice. She'd kill him if he skipped practice. He had a future because of her. She wouldn't want him to waste it because of one note.
Still, the sting made it hard.
"I just really wish you were here," he said while taking a seat at the piano. Patting the note in his pocket, he blinked back the tears that welled within his eyes.
She was always in his dreams, in his melodies but it wasn't enough. T o hear her voice once more, that's all he was asking for. TO pick up their duet because they hadn't finished it yet...
There were so many things he wanted to say. Words he wished he could confess.
I just really wish you were here to compose another memory.
His fingers brushed lightly against the keys.
"I promise when I find... when I find myself missing you," he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'll play... our symphony."
